Issue 295 Convention of States March 19, 2014

Have you ever heard of a Convention of States? Well if you are a student of history or of government you should have. But let's go over what it is anyway.

What is it: The United States Constitution specifies two ways to amend the Constitution. One way is to have both houses of Congress vote on an amendment with a 2/3 majority required in both in order to pass the change. However, there is another harder way to amend the Constitution. That method is to have 2/3's of the State legislatures pass Constitutional reform so that an amendment can be added. This has not been done since the Articles of Confederation where replaced back in 1789 by the United States Constitution.

How it works: Well if you think the entire Constitution is going to be rewritten, then you are wrong. A Constitutional Convention can specify what topics or amendments they are allowed to address. So specifically saying that it will address term limits for elected members of Congress and for judges appointed to the Supreme Court would actually limit the convention to discussing and making amendments on those issues exclusively.

Some other examples of amendment topics that could be discussed at a convention of states:

• A balanced budget amendment
• A redefinition of the General Welfare Clause (the original view was the federal government could not spend money on any topic within the jurisdiction of the states)
• A redefinition of the Commerce Clause (the original view was that Congress was granted a narrow and exclusive power to regulate shipments across state lines--not all the economic activity of the nation)
• A prohibition of using international treaties and law to govern the domestic law of the United States
• A limitation on using Executive Orders and federal regulations to enact laws (since Congress is supposed to be the exclusive agency to enact laws)
• Imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court
• Placing an upper limit on federal taxation
• Requiring the sunset of all existing federal taxes and a super-majority vote to replace them with new, fairer taxes

It is actually happening: The people of the United States are fed up with Washington D.C.'s politics and their wasteful spending. So a group calling itself Convention of States has begun an effort to begin an actual convention to fix our government. The examples above are their examples (but not limited to) of topics that they will be discussing at the convention itself. To read more go to this website: http://www.conventionofstates.com/

Conclusion: Am I worried that the members of this convention will overstep their boundaries? Well of course I am. So that is why I am writing this article, so that you, my dear reader can pay attention so as to keep them from being as corrupt as the members of the government. Stay strong and stay attentive my friends.